The First Colonial Soldiers ~~ finally into calm waters

The journey began in May 2013, and by then we though to be back by the end of year. But we were delayed, and we thought it would be summer 2014. However, with so much to explore, so much to chronicle and so much to investigate further the journey was split into two.

The first part of the journey was accomplished in November 2014, with the coverage of the British territories in Europe, think of Dunkirk and Gibraltar, but also the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, North Africa (Tangier), West Africa (the Gambia, Sierra Leone, the Gold Coast), St Helena, and the factories in East India (present day India and Indonesia).

The second journey ventured West. From the cold and barren Hudson Bay, via the cod fisheries of Newfoundland, the Puritans in New England, to the Dutch and the fur trade in New Netherland, the Swedes in New Sweden, and Quakers in Pennsylvania. The plantation colonies of Maryland, Virginia and Carolina were followed by the island colonies of Jamaica, with of course a narrative of Cromwell's Western Design, the Barbadoes, the Leewards, the Bermudas, and the many smaller settlements, and attempts to settle, in Middle and South America.

And then, the work was done, the journey came to an end and was neatly written down in two volumes, with the second volume in two parts. Together over 100 illustrations and maps, and almost 1,000 pages of text.

Next a short rest, and a glimpse of what is to come next:

The First Colonial Soldiers, volume 2 ~~ the final chapter

After more than two years of writing, editing and research, the end is near. December 2014 saw the "birth" of Volume 1 of the First Colonial Soldiers, and Volume 2 is being proof-printed as we speak. If everything goes as planned, the books will be available in a few weeks.

As usual these days with final volumes / episodes / parts, it will come in two sub-parts. Stay tuned!

The First Colonial Soldiers ~~ a glimpse of what is to come this summer!

After more than one year of editing, formatting, reading, more editing, sending and receiving more emails to my co-author, re-shuffling, and quite a bit of editing ahead, the project The First Colonial Soldiers is nearing completion! Stay tuned!

Colonial Records ~~ New Haven

New Haven was founded in 1638 as a ``new haven'' for orthodox Puritans, who found that Massachusetts Bay had become to much of a Sodom and Gomorrah.

The colony, lying west of the Connecticut River, never received a Charter. When the much larger Connecticut Colony was grated a Royal Charter in 1662, this encompassed the towns of New Haven. In January 1665 the colony was finally absorbed into Connecticut.

Two records exist (the years between 1649 and 1653 are missing):

Volume 1: 1638 - 1649 (Records of the Colony and Plantation of New Haven)
Volume 2: 1653 - 1664 (Records of the Colony and Jurisdiction of New Haven)

Colonial Records ~~ Pennsylvania

Though this province didn't have much of a militia in during the reigns of William III and Anne, because of the Quaker dominance, there are still relevant records available for the colonial period. These are known either as Colonial Records of Pennsylvania or as the Minutes of the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania. These records form part of the 138 volume Pennsylvania Archives.

Volume 1: 1683 - 1700
Volume 2: 1700 - 1717
Volume 3: 1717 - 1736
Volume 4: 1736 - 1745
Volume 5: 1745 - 1754
Volume 6: 1754 - 1756
Volume 7: 1756 - 1758
Volume 8: 1757 - 1762
Volume 9: 1762 - 1771
Volume 10: 1771 - 1776
After 1776, when the Revolution had broken out, there are six more records called Minutes of the Supreme Executive Council, still part of the Colonial Records series.

Secondly, there are four volumes in the Series 1 of the Pennsylvania Archives relevant for the colonial period:

Volume 1: Pennsylvania Archives .. commencing 1644
Volume 2: Pennsylvania Archives .. commencing 1748
Volume 3: Pennsylvania Archives .. commencing 1756
Volume 4: Pennsylvania Archives .. commencing 1760
Volume 5 commences in 1776; in total there are twelve volumes in this series.

There is an index for the Colonial Records and the Pennsylvania Archives:
General Index .. colonial Records .. Pennsylvania Archives ..

Series 2 contains a few additional volumes of interest:
Volume 5: Papers Relating to the Colonies on the Delaware 1614 - 1682
Volume 6: Papers Relating to the French Occupation in Western Pennsylvania 1631 - 1764
Volume 7: Provincial Affairs 1682 - 1750

Colonial Records ~~ Rhode Island

Next in this series on Colonial Records the Colony of Rhode Island. A small province, with the much larger Connecticut and Massachusetts Bay on its West and North, respectively. Nevertheless, quite extensive material exist published as the Records of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations in New England.

Volume 1: 1636 - 1663
Volume 2: 1664 - 1677
Volume 3: 1678 - 1706
Volume 4: 1707 - 1740
Volume 5: 1741 - 1756
Volume 6: 1757 - 1769
Volume 7: 1770 - 1776

Colonial Records ~~ New Hampshire

Second in this series of Colonial Records is the province of New Hampshire, for which there are several volumes called Documents and Records related to the Province of New-Hampshire from the earliest period of its settlement: 1623 - 1776. This is a sub-serie of the State and Provincial Papers of New Hampshire, which has up to 40 volumes (see here for an overview). Those deemed of interested for the period before the Revolution include:

Volume 1: 1623 - 1686
Volume 2: 1686 - 1722 (mostly Council records)
Volume 3: 1692 - 1722 (containing the journal of the Council and Assembly from 1692 - 1722)
Volume 4: 1722 - 1737
Volume 5: 1738 - 1749
Volume 6: 1749 - 1763
Volume 7: 1764 - 1776

Volume 14: Rolls of the Soldiers in the Revolutionary War, volume 1 (contains some rolls related to Queen Anne's War)
Volume 17: Rolls of the Soldiers in the Revolutionary War, volume 4 (contains  several Provincial Papers 1629 - 1725)

Volume 19: Provincial Papers of New Hampshire (roughly 1679 - 1764)

Volume 23: A list of documents in the PRO in London England relating to the Province of New Hampshire

Another interesting publication is from the New Hampshire Historical Society:

Volume 8: Collections of the New Hampshire Historical Society: containing province records and court papers from 1680 to 1692, notices of provincial councilors, and other articles relative to the early history of the state.

Colonial Records ~~ Connecticut

The ubiquitous  Archive.org holds tons of digitized volumes related to the colonial history of the English colonies in North America. Important amongst those for the student of colonial administration (see also the Colonial soldiers project) are the records from the colonial administrators. This post, and following, are to summarize links those records for ease of access, as an online bookmark.

First colony is Connecticut, for which we have a series of 15 volumes called the Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut 1636 - 1776. These volumes cover the years when the colony was founded, until the American Revolution.

Volume 1: April 1636 - April 1665
Volume 2: May 1665 - November 1677
Volume 3: May 1678 - June 1689
Volume 4: August 1689 - May 1706
Volume 5: October 1706 - October 1716
Volume 6: May 1717 - October 1725
Volume 7: May 1726 - October 1735
Volume 8: October 1735 - October 1743
Volume 9: May 1744 - November 1750
Volume 10: May 1751 - February 1757
Volume 11: May 1757 - March 1762
Volume 12: May 1762 - October 1767
Volume 13: May 1768 - May 1772
Volume 14: October 1772 - April 1775
Volume 15: May 1775 - June 1776

Pending projects ~~ The First Colonial Soldiers

After the relative success of my '1699' and '1714' half-pay lists, the last of which good pretty nice reviews in The Irish Sword and the Journal of the Society of Army Historical Research, a number of new projects were started.

One of these projects will be written together with an Englishman of name, and with a good deal more experience in writing. Apart from the topic, on which more shortly, this cooperation is already very inspiring and instructive.

The topic of this project focusses on colonial soldiering in the 17th and early part of the 18th centuries. Whereas this topic is pretty well covered in literature for the period of the later 18th century (King George's War, the French and Indian Wars), this is much less true for the preceding period.

Thus, the scope of the project is related to the early years of settlement and colonisation of New England, the West Indies and, to a lesser degree, West Africa and the East Indies, and more in particular to the garrisons of these colonies: The First Colonial Soldiers. Also dealt with are 'European' overseas possessions like Gibraltar, Dunkirk and the Channel Islands.

For each colony, or overseas possession, an introductory narrative is provided with the relevant background information on the genesis of that colony. More important, and the main topic of the project, are the 'colonial soldiers', the garrisons in those colonies. Lists of troops are provided, regulars and militia, with dates of commissions and organisational / regimental details. Whereas information on regular troops is - relatively - well known and available, the parts on the various colonial militias are often the result of new research and compilation of information from various sources.

Furthermore, the militia had, almost by definition of being the local form of defence, strong bindings to the local community and administration of the colonies. Reading the history of these militias, and their officers, reads like a history of the colonies.

The First Colonial Soldiers is expected to be published by July 2014. Visit this blog for updates, or check the publisher's site.